Folding bedstead



(No Model.)

S.' S. BURR.

AFOLDING BEDSTBAD.

N0.t261,3o5. Patented July 18, 1882-.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orgien.

SANFORD S. BURR, OF VINNETKA, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING BEDSTEAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofA Letters Patent No. 261,305, dated July 18, 1882.

Application tiled June 14, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: f

Be it known that I, SANFORD S. BURR, of Winnetka,1llinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Bedl steads, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of folding bedsteads generally known as wardrobe-bedsteadsL-that is to say, bedsteads having a hinged bed capable of being turned up into a case or into upright position when not in use. The hinged bed usually has combined with or applied to it weights or springs which serve to counterbalance the weight of the bed when it is being turned up or down. These appliances are necessary; but they are open to the objection that they render it difficult at the start to draw down the bed, and that they also cause the bed to close or fold up too rapidly and forcibly, unless vcare be taken to hold back the bed by hand. l

It is my object to provide means whereby the bed may be more easily managed and manipulated underthese circumstances. To this end I combine with the hinged bedan independently-hinged front, connected with the bed by a cord or equivalent connection, which will permit the front to turn'down some little distance before the cord-connection is drawn taut. The front in this position serves both as a weight and as a lever, which is conveniently placed for use, and acts through its cord-connection with the bed to start and draw 'down .the latter from its upright position. It also serves equally as a means by which the bed when it is lifted can be held from closing too forcibly.

'Ihe nature of my improvement and the manner in which the saine is or may be carried into effect will be readily understood by reference t0 the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a perspective view of a wardrobebedstead in folded condition containing my improvements. Fig. 2 is a like view ofthe same with the front partly unfolded or lowered. Fig. 3 is a sectional view, representing the bed partly lowered and the front completely lowered. Fig. 4 is a sectional view, representing both bed and front completely unfolded or lowered.

A is the case or frame, of ordinary or suitable construction.

B is the bed, hinged to the case at the point a, provided with the usual counter-weights, b, and the hinged leg-frame c, which, when turned up as indicated in Fig. 1, constitutes the headpiece of the wardrobe-front.

There is nothing essentially novel in the parts thus far described.

The hinged front hereinbefore referred to is shown at O. It maybe hinged to any suitable part of the case or bed. In the present instance, in order to allow play for the spring bed-bottom it is hinged to the lower part ot' the case at a point, d, below the point a at which the bed B is hinged, a space between the front and the bed being thus afforded when the two are unfolded for the play of the bed-bottom, as indicated in Fig. 4. The front C, at or near its upper end, is connected tothe upper end of the bedby cords e,or theirequivalent, the object being to obtain a ilexible or pliable connection between the two. The front, when the bedstead is folded up, stands upright and constitutes the front of the wardrobe, as indicated in Fig. 1.

The action is as follows: When it is desired to lower the bed the front is opened and pulled down. Until it reaches the position indicatedv in Fig. 2, in which the cords care taut, it exercises no influence on the bed; but in this position it acts as a weight to lessen the labor of starting the bed, and will, it' made sufficiently heavy, serve to materially assistinloweringit. When it is pulled farther down, after' reaching that position, it draws on the bed through vthe intermediary of the cords e and acts as a lever to pull down the bed until it reaches its lowest position, as indicated in Fig. 3, by which time the bed has been so far turned down as to render it easy to lower it. The front in this position is supported by a hinged leg, f, attached to it, which can be folded up out of the way when the front is lifted. The person opening the bedstead then takes hold of the bed and lowers it from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that represented in Fig. 4., in which latter position it is supported and upheld by the legs of the frame c. To close or fold up the bed, reverse operation is gone through with. The bed is lifted to the position shown in Fig. 3, in which position it requires but little, if any, further lifting power applied to it in order to bring it to upright position, and the operator, as the bed closes, prevents it from shut- IOO ting up too forcibly and quickly by pressing" down on the front. As soon as the bed is inv the upright position shown in Fig.2 the front is raised and closed, as indicated in Fig. 1.

I have before stated that the front can, it' desired, be hinged to the bed instead of the ease. I would also state that, in lieu of using a front such as represented, I can use any other hinged appliance-as, for instance, :t bar or other device connected to the bed by a cord or equivalent connection, and adapted to serve as a lever to draw or pull down the bed.

What I claim as new and of my invention l. Thecombinatiomwiththecounterweighted folding bed and support or case to which the saine is hinged, of a folding front or its equivalent, hinged to said case or bed and connected with the bed by :L cord or other pliable counection, substantially as and for the purposes zo SANFGRD S. BURR.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH KERSIIAW, FRED. K. MoRmLL. 

